Patient's question:
The girl is 5 and a half years old and often complains of stomach pain, especially before going to kindergarten in the morning. However, if she doesn't go to school that day, she plays happily and never complains of stomach pain. Hospital tests revealed inflammation of the mesenteric lymph nodes. Due to her history of allergic reactions to intravenous drips, she is being treated with medication (Xinkeno). She frequently says that going to school is not good and that working is better, showing a dislike for kindergarten. However, when she is at kindergarten, she performs well and gets along well with teachers and classmates.Is this stomach pain caused by psychological factors? What might be the reasons for this phenomenon? How can parents help their child break free from the cycle of hating kindergarten? I really want to hear your thoughts.
Doctor's answer:
The physiological reactions caused by psychological terror at school. If this is allowed to continue, it will further exacerbate her "condition" and ultimately affect her academic performance and normal social activities. The cause is your excessive focus on her body and life. During her adjustment period at kindergarten (when she first started), she chose to avoid it (by not going to kindergarten). You adopted the wrong approach, which was to: agree to her demands—this satisfied her psychological need for security derived from avoiding kindergarten. Repeating this behavior will further increase her fear of kindergarten and school. As she grows older, you may need to persist in sending her to school. When she realizes that her attempts to pout or act stubbornly will not change your mind, if you show excessive indulgence towards her when she is sick, and if she uses feigning illness to achieve her goal of staying out of school or kindergarten, she will resort to pretending to be sick to elicit your sympathy. Over time, psychological stress responses can trigger genuine physiological reactions, leading to actual illnesses. Moreover, under the long-term influence of negative psychological suggestions, her physical health may decline.The solution is to reduce excessive attention to her body and life. Even if she is genuinely sick, as long as there is no danger to her life, you must persist in sending her to kindergarten. Once she psychologically adapts to life there, all symptoms will dissipate.